JXXXL

I paid for one month at the Dangtuan and as of yesterday, it was 2,500. They said the priced increased October last year.

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What was it like. I used to belong but the equipment was not kept up very well and the staff seemed to think there job was to talk to the chicks. The pool was nice and the sauna was OK but they never seemed to have the hot tub in operation. Looked at the Shangrala but it didn't seem like it could handle many users at the time I looked at it. That was a long time ago.

The Dangtuan is FAR from perfect, but given the gym situation in Chiang Mai I bit the bullet and paid the asking price. OK, here's my review:

They have a decent free weight room with enough equipment to handle the crowd. Their strength training machines are also decent in terms of variety and most are in good working order. The weight room is nothing compared to a proper gym, but it's one of the best currently in Chiang Mai.

There seems to be a large number of cardio machines, but I don't use them so I can't say anything about the quality or working order.

The men's locker room/sauna is dark, hot, smelly and the changing area is very small. There are also a bunch of guys who seem to enjoy sitting around talking or hours which makes the place more crowded. I use the locker room to change and shower and for this I find it not only dirty but frustrating because of all the people milling around.

I think 2,500/month is obscene for a place like this, but unfortunately there's little choice.

I paid for one month at the Dangtuan and as of yesterday, it was 2,500. They said the priced increased October last year.

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We booked at our favourite restaurant and bought a bottle of nice wine. I know there will be folks telling me I'm an alcoholic because I can't enjoy dinner without wine. I'm really pissed off about this.

What.......Macha Bucha Day or Folks telling you.............?

Yes, I must work on my grammer . I'm pissed off because of all these government imposed dry days falling on weekends, especially in the past month. Fark!!!!

We booked at our favourite restaurant and bought a bottle of nice wine. I know there will be folks telling me I'm an alcoholic because I can't enjoy dinner without wine. I'm really pissed off about this.

Highlands is not such a bad deal at 250k and 500k for 10 and 20 years respectively. Currently 9k per annum subs. You then just pay caddie fee plus tip.

These are transferable at a cost of 30k ish. The annual rate is 70k, so second hand memberships ought to be of interest even with a couple of years remaining.

Unless I could easily afford to lose it, I wouldn't pay a substantial amount for a long term arrangement with any Thai company.

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I go to KL a lot on business and often eat at some great restaurants. My recs are:

Japanese - Ozeki (Japanese chefs, fusion/modern)

French - Yeast (in Bangsar)

Indian - Nirwana (banana leaf, modest setting but VERY good. Also in Bangsar)

Italian - Trattoria Italian

Malaysian - remember, Malaysian can be Indian, Chinese, Malay, or a combination of the three. Madam Kwan's top floor of KLCC mall is very good and user friendly.

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Check out Mae Jo Cc. A friend and I recently joined. They have two membership packages which are paid annually. I took the lower tier which gives you a good break on green fees and they give you a big stack of vouchers to use at the resort. Check out their website for details.

Very nice course too.

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3.50 US seems very very cheap. I think you should expect to pay 250bht fitted. Did you try the shops in Stardome?

$3.50 is a bit low as there is shipping involved, but I found Lamkin Crossline grips on ebay for $3.70 each which I saw in a shop at Stardome for 450 B. Full cord grips are $8 on Amazon and 550 B at Stardome. That is really taking the piss.

I'm going to check out that place across from Lanna.

Your friend couldn't be in a better country to find this product and mounting information. I suggest she go talk to a farang agogo proprieter, there's plenty in Bangkok and Pattaya. I can attest to the sturdiness of the poles at Long Gun

Thanks for the feedback guys. I haven't had time to get over to Lanna but I went my a shop on the small soi leading to Stardome and they had some grips, but crikey are they are they expensive. They wanted 500 Baht per piece for a grip that costs $3.50 in the US. I hope it's not like that everywhere. It would cost a fortune to regrip the whole set.

I need to have my clubs regripped. Any of you golfers out there know a good place to do this?

BIG ups for The Duke's . The turkey dinner was great, very home style. Over the past 10 years, I've gone to five star hotel buffets around the region for Thanksgiving and the turkey is usually a feature added to the usual buffet; oh, and it's expensive. Duke's was about 500b and great value imho. It was packed though and fortunately we booked last week. I thought the crowd made it feel festive, everyone was happy and there to celebrate the holiday. I will definitely go there next year.

And Wat Doi Kham.

Walked up there recently.. Brutal.

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Second Doi Kam. Beautiful climb through the forest and a good workout. My wife and I would do two time up and down five days a week.

Just tried Ristr8to and must say they serve the best espresso drinks I've had anywhere in the world. This place is truly a benchmark for espresso. The latte art is also gorgeous, I've never seen it done this well.

Surprisingly, the barrista is a humble and very nice guy. The shop isn't plush, but the coffee is world class.

My daughter is visiting and she's asking where to get threading done.

For those of you who don't know, is a hair removal technique. Yes, it's new to me too.

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It's quite likely the owner has taken these steps to relieve themselves of any future bad karma.

And if we want to go down this route then surely young Kiwi woman's death can also be put down to bad Karma, no?.

Exactly. Getting rid of the evidence.

Stinks of insurance fraud.

Whatever happened to Leibenard? Years ago, I used to buy my beans there as they roasted them onsite. The lady proprietor was quite the barista and made some great drinks. Leibenard was the first really good espresso shop I can remember in Chiang Mai.

I am a home barista and espresso enthusiast. The key to great coffee is mostly to do with the skill of the barista. There are hotels and restaurants with top of the line equipment and the quality of the cup is sh1t. For a chain, the skill of the baristas at Black Canyon is impressive, light years beyond what you find at Starbucks. They clearly invest in training.

My vote for the best cup espresso drinks is Coffee by Thom at Rim Ping near central airport plaza. They make a great cup at a reasonable price, but their beans cost a bomb. Hilkoff has really good beans at a reasonable price.

Does anyone know where to find information about peak arrival times. I'm getting so fed up with crowds that I want to try planning my trips around peak arrival and departure times.

I'm getting to the point where I want to avoid Bangkok all together.

Why do they want to make it the regional HUB ? why Thais must need such recognition from others ? This airport is a mess , on my way back last week I had to wait 40 mn for my luggages after walking 600m to the immigration and queue for nearly one hour ..... arrived at 7am left the airport just before 9am .... WELL DONE this is how you see this "Regional HUB" stop jocking and ACT . that would be better .. Bangkok will never be Singapore , Seoul or Hong kong ..dream on !!!!

Ditto. Swampypoom is a joke. Worst modern airport I have ever used.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, will definitely be looking into these.

Hi,

My step daughter is in her final year at CMU and an English major. She's being told by her adjarns that her writing and speaking skills are poor and she may not pass some of her courses. She's really discouraged. I don't know if the reason is due to her studying, or lack thereof, or the curriculum. I'm away from home for long periods, but when I help her with her homework, it seems a bit archaic and unduly difficult. My Daughter spoke Thai exclusively till she started at CMU and still hangs out with only Thai speaking friends. She told me all her adjarns are Thai as well.

Can anyone recommend a program, study group, etc, that helps Thai kids improve their skills. I think if she could get together with a group of committed Thai students, something like a study group, that would be perfect. Her problem is that she's not practicing outside of school.

Any advice appreciated.

For all those singing the praises of Swampy, keep in mind this is a new airport in the region build at great expense. There's not enough lighting, aircon capacity, toilets or seating. The acoustics are miserable and the walking belts only go in one direction. Take a look at the floor and all the cracks breaking up of the floor material. Look at the dirt on all the fixtures. Walk past the restaurants on the mezzanine floor and smell the smoke. And the immigration? My god.

Compared to any airport build in the last 15 years, this place is a joke. And, build at great expense I might add.

BTW, these polls are easy to rig if you hire the right company to help.